Official Languages committee  People are moving to Calgary.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, with your indulgence, Mr. Lemieux asked a question that was not answered. Could I please have a moment?

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much. The question related to what could be done to encourage anglophones to live in Quebec, either by not leaving or by coming to Quebec. I would strongly encourage a group within the federal government and any partners it seeks to choose, but specifically including the Quebec Community Groups Network, to create some kind of a forum where we could discuss this and where specific recommendations could be brought forward.

Official Languages committee  Unilingual anglophones are generally no longer around. There are a few left, but not many. The English-speaking community has recognized that speaking French is essential. We applaud that. It's extraordinary—there is an advantage for everyone who speaks two or more languages. However, we are talking not only about language but also culture.

Official Languages committee  Of course. We celebrate a lot of small successes. One of them that comes to mind was setting up a group of motivated volunteers who are prepared to take charge of the future: a group with both feet firmly on the ground. However, we need more, and we still need help. There is a strong desire to succeed, and that gives hope for the future.

Official Languages committee  I would certainly like to speak to the question of the action plan. I applaud loudly the fact that the action plan was brought in. I think it is an imaginative and very positive indication of federal support for minority language communities. The reality, however, is that with the exception of the health sector, which Jim Carter spoke about this morning, where significant funding from the action plan has come through Health Canada into our community and has I think had a significant impact, elsewhere in other ministries we have not, in effect, had any significant access to the action plan.

Official Languages committee  The action plan is a huge bureaucratic structure with lots of resources, and it's a little bit like the mouse taking on the elephant. We in the Quebec Community Groups Network simply did not have the resources to successfully derive much benefit from the action plan when it was introduced.

Official Languages committee  Lobbying is another issue, and I agree it is an area that we have been quite weak in, primarily I guess for lack of resources. But it's not only lobbying. I would hope that when the government creates a committee that is looking at adopting a new policy, or even after the policy is adopted, a rules and regulations, or whatever, committee can be created that would consult with the community representatives and say, how can this program be best organized to work for you?

Official Languages committee  You've touched on some very interesting questions. First of all, the Quebec Community Groups Network is an umbrella group. As Bob has just indicated, we ensure that our members get together several times a year. We don't think we get together often enough. If you want to know why we don't, it's very simple economics.

Official Languages committee  I think we are all familiar with the history of the past few decades. Certainly, there was a climate in this province that members of the anglophone community were not comfortable with some time ago. I think that is no longer the case. The anglophone community in Quebec now, I know, is not so much worried about the political uncertainty of the future and that sort of thing.

Official Languages committee  Thank you. On behalf of the 25 member groups of the Quebec Community Groups Network, I wish to express our appreciation for the opportunity to put our reality on the record and to thank you specifically for coming to somewhere outside Montreal, although that is an important area too.